If you thought, you had seen the worst of privatisation, think again – Central Railways is going to privatise shoe-shining in 6 zones along the Central and Harbour Railway lines in Mumbai. Those who know the tremendous crowds on Mumbai’s local train stations are also familiar with the shoeshine worker sitting calmly in the surging … Continue reading
We are now a small and a sick family. We have all fallen victim to Conjunctivitis (commonly called “pinkeye” or “Madras Eye” in India). It started off with my dad, and then spread to the entire family, including our little daughter. Newspapers in Mumbai are full of Conjunctivitis news. It is that time of the … Continue reading
How much does it cost to treat diarrhoea in children? A lot, as we realised when we came face-to-face with diarrhoea and the medical establishment, twice in the span of less than a month. I had written earlier about the water in our neighbourhood. Needless to say, our little one was down with her second … Continue reading
You wake up in the morning to the smell of brewing coffee. As you await your morning dose of newspaper, you decide to freshen up. You take those first few sleepy steps to the wash basin and suddenly you see RED and stop in fright…. But then you continue again, because you have to be … Continue reading
Moving newly to a city is teaching us many things, starting with, ‘things are not cheap here’ (except the vada pav . Living opposite a slum invariably has its own lessons to teach. Firstly, the water to this area is visibly different from the rest of chembur/ govandi. It comes with worms (red, black.. all … Continue reading
